Why Private Peer-to-Peer Payments are Essential to an Open Society
Cash is more than a method of payment. It is a fundamental tool for individual privacy and autonomy, and it is necessary for an open society. This paper shows that...
Research Report
Framework for Securities Regulation of Cryptocurrencies
We lay out the case for treating some cryptocurrencies as securities—and some not.
This report, originally published in 2016 and updated in 2018, presents a framework for securities regulation of cryptocurrencies— e.g. Bitcoin and derivative projects or “alt-coins.” The framework is based on the...
The Need for a Federal Alternative to State Money Transmission Licensing
A plan for policymakers to clear one of the biggest obstacles to financial innovation.
The several states rather than the federal government are the primary regulators of money transmitters. State-by-state money transmission licensing is inefficient because transmitters provide a networked good that inherently crosses...
The Bank Secrecy Act, Cryptocurrencies, and New Tokens: What is Known and What Remains Ambiguous
Are compliance obligations triggered when the developers of a new decentralized token protocol sell them to U.S. persons?
This report summarizes how various activities performed with cryptocurrencies and similar tokens have thus far been characterized by FinCEN and other authorities for the purposes of determining the compliance obligations...
State Digital Currency Principles and Framework
How lawmakers can protect digital currency consumers without harming innovation.
States have begun to look at how virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, and the businesses that utilize them to provide consumer products, interact with money transmission and consumer protection policy....
Open Matters: Why Permissionless Blockchains are Essential to the Future of the Internet
We demystify the actual technologies behind “blockchain technology” and explain these several technologies in a way that even non-technical readers will understand.
This report offers a non-technical but thorough explanation of “blockchain technology” with a focus on the key variables within consensus mechanism design that differentiate so-called permissioned or closed and permissionless...
A Securities Law Framework for Blockchain Tokens
An open source and free to use framework prepared in collaboration with Coinbase, Union Square Ventures and Consensys.
This framework was originally published December 2016. It is well out of date now. Do not rely on it. As the development of blockchain tokens (also known as App Coins)...
Bitcoin: A Primer for Policymakers
This plain language guide describes how the digital currency works and addresses many of the common misconceptions about it.
Overcoming Obstacles to Banking Virtual Currency Businesses
Reports that cryptocurrency businesses have had difficulties in getting banked have circulated in the popular press and industry lore for years. Coin Center partnered with law firm Arnold & Porter LLP to interview banks and companies of all sizes to document this difficulty.
Virtual currency businesses (“VCBs”) offer an alternative payment rail to traditional banks and financial institutions. In order to operate, though, VCBs themselves rely on banks to conduct fundamental payment, savings,...
Bitcoin: Risk Factors for Insurance
How do you insure Bitcoin? We were asked by venerable insurance provider Lloyd's of London to answer that question.